Demonstration against the delivery of arms to Ukraine and in favor of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, in Berlin, February 25, 2023. CHRISTIAN MANG / REUTERS
Organized by a far-left political figure and a feminist activist, this rally is extremely controversial, in particular because far-right figures have joined the initiative.
Around 10,000 people, according to police, gathered in central Berlin on Saturday to call for negotiations with Moscow rather than delivering weapons to Ukraine, a year and a day after the Russian invasion.
Organized by far-left political figure Sahra Wagenknecht and feminist Alice Schwarzer, this rally, which has the slogan “rise up for peaceis extremely controversial, especially because far-right figures have joined this initiative.
Under the Brandenburg Gate, Wagenknecht and Schwarzer took the stage to call for “diplomacy rather than arms deliveryin front of an audience of demonstrators bundled up to defy the cold and the showers of melting snow.
Fear of collisions
Since February 10, Wagenknecht and Schwarzer have also launched an internet petition titled “manifesto for peacewhich claims more than 645,000 signatures.
According to a spokesman for the Berlin police, other demonstrations of the same movement have been announced, as well as counter-demonstrations. For fear of clashes, the police mobilized around 1,400 police officers.
Read alsoTen images that tell of a year of Ukrainian suffering and resistance
Friday, one year to the day after the Russian offensive, numerous demonstrations against the war in Ukraine took place in Germany, including one also at the Brandenburg Gate which was illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
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